The Game
by Lysende
Summary: Competition has begun at DWMA, where meisters and weapons prove who among them is the best of the best, worthy of the title of Master. Soul and Maka work together as they face their greatest challenges... including their true feelings. Rated M for language, violence, and sexual content.


**IMPORTANT Opening Notes**: This story deviates from the original plot, enough so that I would prefer to call it AU. A few things to note before reading that will clear up any confusion one might have: Lord Death is NOT dead. Soul Eater is not a Death Scythe yet. Soul and Maka defeated the Kishin Asura together, details of which are unimportant to this story. There is no alliance with the witches, war still rages! Justin Law is **not** a traitor and is still alive. Crona is MIA after the Kishin incident, Medusa and Arachne are dead. This will probably border closer to the anime than manga, but be a little prepared for some OOC-ness and a slightly AU. They've all grown older (4-5 years) and matured in a couple different ways. The character of Soul Eater NOT will show up at some point, but they don't play a significant role. Everything makes sense as you read, I think. Of course, I welcome any and all questions. These being said, I hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Soul Eater or Soul Eater NOT!, both are property of Atsushi Ōkubo.

_Please excuse any grammar mistakes! I'm no English professor._

**The Game**

Chapter One: Announcement

Dr. Stein grimaced visibly as he handed Soul Eater his latest test paper folded in half as he left the class, following his meister.

_That's not cool..._ he thought bleakly before he opened it up, examining the excessive red marks all over.

"That wasn't too terrible; I did better than I thought!" Maka said with a light smile turning around after she put her test in her bag. Her smile faded when she saw the look of absolute horror on her partner's face. She frowned sympathetically. "That bad?"

"Worse," he said darkly, staring at the ground. He crumpled his exam and shoved it in his pocket, not letting her see how horribly he had failed. He was utterly _fucked_ now; he was going to have to take summer classes if he didn't ace the final in a couple of weeks. There went his summer plans to travel with Maka...

"Jeez, Soul, if you would just focus a little more on your studies you wouldn't be in this predicament..." Maka scolded lightly. While she'd been hitting the books hard with coffee in hand, he had gone over to Black Star's to 'study'. Of course, she knew that was a lie, and that they had ended up playing video games and drink beer until the early hours of the morning. She doubted that they even opened their notebooks. Hopefully they hadn't disturbed poor Tsubaki.

"Not now; I don't need to hear any criticism from a flat-chested bookworm girl like you," he snapped defensively. He really didn't mean to be so hurtful, but he was already upset and she was only making things worse.

"You don't need to be such an asshole about it," she narrowed her eyes, angry. She took off, walking away quickly to get away from him. Sure she wasn't the most endowed young woman, but she had developed some curves over the years, and that certainly didn't give Soul the right to say those things just to be mean! She was just trying to point out what might have helped him. "And here I was going to offer to help you study..."

Immediately regretting his hurtful words, he chased after her, grabbing her slender wrist to stop her.

She spun around to face him, still incredibly angry. He fully expected to receive a Maka Chop and for her to not give him the chance to say anything.

"What now?" Maka snapped testily, not wanting to hear another one of his insults.

Yep, he deserved her anger. Not letting go of her wrist, his face turned to an apologetic frown. His dark red eyes turned to sparkling green ones, trying to communicate how sorry he truly was even if he wasn't able to voice it well enough. He wasn't the best with words, and he sometimes let his shitty attitude get the best of him. He didn't mean to hurt her; he was just so pissed about the test...

"Sorry," Soul blushed lightly, releasing her and rubbing his snowy white hair with one hand. "You're probably right. I shoulda studied more."

He looked down at the ground, embarrassed. It wasn't cool of him to treat her that way, and he knew it was his own fault for his failing grade. Apologizing was awkward, but he owed her at least that much.

He could feel the anger fade from his meister through the bond between their souls. Their connection was very strong, but he could only tell when she reached emotional extremes: angry, sad, scared, or happy.

Soul briefly raised his crimson eyes to hers, unsure of what he would find there. Maka was still upset, but she was far less angry. Understanding filled those beautiful emerald orbs. He lifted one side of his mouth slightly in a hopeful half-smile.

"I'm sorry that you didn't do so well on Stein's last test," the young woman smiled lightly back, tipping her head to the side.

Her ash blonde pigtails were longer than they had been when they defeated Asura the Kishin over four years prior, draping down below her shoulders, below her breasts. Her bangs were slightly longer too, delicately framing her heart-shaped face. She'd become as beautiful as she was smart and strong; Soul Eater knew he was damn lucky to have her as his meister.

"You know, I don't want to go on vacation by myself. Death forbid I have to ask Kid and the Thompson twins to come with me."

Soul snorted at the idea of Maka spending time with that trio in Ireland; Kid's OCD would drive her nuts and Liz and Patti were more than wild enough without inebriation that was destined to occur there. He wanted to go on their trip so badly it was almost sad. He couldn't wait to spend some quality time with the blonde young woman and actually get to see some of the places they had been to on their missions over the years. Maybe he would finally get up the courage to tell her...

"Tell you what, I will help you get an A on the final if you promise to do me a favor in the future." Truthfully, she would help him even if he rejected her request for a favor. She was so excited to visit the Emerald Isle with him; it wouldn't be the same with anyone else. He was her best friend, and she too wanted time alone with him.

Soul raised a single eyebrow.

"What kind of favor?" he asked suspiciously. Damn did this feel like a trap.

"Haven't decided yet, but it'll be a good one, don't you worry," she winked at him with a light laugh.

_God, doesn't she know what she does to me?_ Soul thought desperately as he impassively watched her turn on the heel of her chunky black combat boot and continue walking towards their apartment. Her confidence was _so sexy_.

"Hmmmm... Perhaps," he mumbled quietly as he followed, eyes fixed on her hungrily.

Her tiny blue plaid skirt moved slightly as she walked; it was little but it covered the supple curve of her behind well enough. Her white short-sleeved button up shirt was extremely flattering and accentuated her soft, feminine curves nicely. Her long, long legs were lightly tanned from her leisurely hours spent lying in the sun reading her books. _Those legs..._ he gently bit his bottom lip with his sharp teeth. _What I would-_

"Going once, going twice..." Maka taunted, humorously counting down the time until her offer expired. She didn't bother to turn around, continuing to walk as though she didn't give a damn whether or not he accepted.

"Okay, okay!" Soul Eater shouted, accepting her terms.

"Great!" she smiled happily, turning to smile at him. She'd offered to help him numerous times with his studies, but he had always blown her off. Studying wasn't his thing. He had been fine with just getting by with C's. But he really needed her help now, and he was very grateful that she was willing. He was slightly unnerved about receiving study help from her; he momentarily envisioned some kind of educational boot camp. "Don't worry, Soul; with my help, you'll pass for sure!"

"Thanks, Maka."

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_In class the following day..._

"…and in order to achieve perfect soul resonance, it is important that the two souls involved have three things: bravery, knowledge, and trust. Without all three, the resonance will fail, and the two souls will deflect one another's wavelengths. A brave soul..." the Death Scythe Spirit Albarn droned on and on.

Soul struggled to stay awake during this particular class period nearly every time he had it. He and Maka had a nearly perfect soul resonance; they were totally in sync with one another on a level few their age could achieve. Spirit's class taught them to expand their skill sets, perfecting their teamwork and connection to result in more powerful attacks such at their Witch Hunter, taking it up to even higher levels. Not only did he already know everything Spirit was saying, but Soul had very little respect for the man. Sure, he was Maka's father, but he was kind of a tool. He was always womanizing and claiming to still love Maka's mother at the same time. _So uncool_... That, and Spirit had been on to Soul's true feelings for Maka since the very beginning.

Way back when they had first become partners, Spirit had warned Soul to keep his hands off of his precious baby girl. At that time, Soul's affections were entirely innocent, a simple crush on the nice and sweet girl who had decided for some reason to partner with him- the friendless musical prodigy with pointy teeth. Soul had been alone for a lot of his life and her kindness drew him in. He had always tried to disguise his true feelings towards Maka with words that insinuated the polar opposite: that she was a bookworm and nerdy. Which were actually some of the things he liked most about her.

As they got older, his affections slowly became less innocent. He matured and began to see Maka in a different light. Not only was she smart and kind, she was really cute- becoming beautiful and sexy with each passing year. It was then that his insults got meaner to cover his attraction: tiny tits, flat-chested dweeb, fat ankles, ugly, twiggy loser, dateless nerd, etc.

And aside from her physical beauty, it was also her soul and personality he was attracted to. She was clever, considerate, thoughtful, and sweet. She had a temper sometimes, but that was why he'd pushed her buttons so often. He loved that he was able to make her so mad so easily. Maka had a confidence about her that he could feel when he was in her hands; she would wield him proudly and pour all of her energy and spirit into each battle they faced. They had been together for so long, and he had grown to care for her deeply, not as just a friend. He wanted more; he wanted her to be with him as more than his meister and friend.

It was like Spirit had known how he had felt the entire time... And it annoyed the shit out of Soul! Maybe it was a really common thing for weapons to fall for their meisters... He hadn't really noticed though. Black Star and Tsubaki weren't intimate as far as he knew. Black Star was still trying to see Tsubaki naked (unsuccessful as of yet), but it seemed as though she only saw him as a sort of younger brother. Death the Kid and the twins didn't seem to have anything special going on there; then again, Soul Eater wasn't entirely sure which way the young reaper swung- if at all. He seemed to only have a raging boner for symmetry. Liz wasn't interested in her meister at all (there was an unconfirmed rumor about her being involved with a mysterious someone); and Patti was so ridiculous that no one would even be able to tell if she had feelings for anyone.

Soul didn't know how Spirit knew (maybe he was just being an overly protective father and truly had no idea), but he was fed up with his shitty remarks. And his class was so damn boring...

His eyes drooped slightly, they were unbearably fucking heavy. He was so warm in his sweater and shirt, the chairs were too damn comfy. He was _soooo_ tired. Maybe he could close his eyes for a minute, no one would notice. He could just get a little bit more sleep and he'd be fine...

"Ouch!" Soul yelped quietly, grabbing the sensitive skin under his arm as he shot upright in his seat. He glared daggers at the woman to his right.

"Don't sleep," Maka mouthed silently, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow.

Soul childishly stuck out his tongue at her. She moved her hand in a pinching motion, threatening to pinch him if he tried to sleep again. Not sleeping in class would help his grades significantly, making her job as tutor easier. Plus, she was really tired of being put on the spot by-

"You two!" Spirit shouted pointing, causing the two of them to jump in their seats. "Soul, how dare you distract my precious Maka from my wonderful teaching with your perversions!"

"What the hell are you talking about old man?!" Soul got to his feet, slamming his hands down on the desk in front of him. This guy had no idea what he was even saying. Perversions? What the fuck? Where the hell did that even come from?!

"Papa, please don't..." Maka said quietly, eyes hidden by the shadow cast from her bangs. Soul could feel her anger building through their bond.

"Oh my beautiful, darling Maka, Papa will protect you from that lecherous boy. Papa loves you and I won't let him corrupt your innoce-"

"Papa! That's enough!" Maka shouted angrily, cutting him off. Her cheeks were bright red with embarrassment. Truthfully, she shouldn't be that embarrassed. Something like this happened at least once a week.

"Maka please don't hate your papa! Papa loves you so very much!" the red haired man bawled into his hands, falling to his knees in front of the entire Crescent Moon Class.

_Seriously? Again? _Soul rolled his eyes. This was so uncool.

A bell chimed loudly, garnering the attention of the class, taking away from the humiliating spectacle at hand. The blackboard behind Spirit flashed brightly, a blinding light emanating through the black surface.

Soul squinted his eyes, sitting back down in his chair. He wondered what Lord Death would have to say today. It wasn't often that he interrupted classes with all-school messages. He hoped it was something cool, like class being cancelled for the rest of the week or that there was free pizza.

The dark ghostly image of Lord Death, Shinigami-sama, appeared on the screen. Behind him was the bright blue background of his domain with fluffy clouds floating happily. The headmaster raised a massive white gloved hand in a waving gesture before he spoke in his dopey, happy voice.

"Good morning, my wonderful students! I hope you are all having a nice day, and I am sorry to interrupt your classes." Death bobbed up and down, his white mask expressionless. "However, I have a very important and exciting announcement to make!"

The students whispered amongst themselves animatedly. Soul glanced at Maka briefly, catching her eye. There was a sparkle in those emerald orbs that he knew was interest. He spared a toothy grin just for her, turning his attention back to the blackboard.

"Quiet down and listen please!" Death waved his hands. "For the first time in nearly twenty five years, DWMA will be holding a competition to determine the meister and weapon team that have the strongest resonance and best skillset. This team will receive great honor and recognition as well as welcome into an elite group of five star meisters and weapons known as Masters upon graduation. I invite all students to participate in this competition, the Masters' Games!"

It definitely was going to be an exciting Thursday afternoon.

**A/N:** Hi hi, this is going to be fun. Expect smaller chapters (~3k in word length). There will be some explicit scenes in the future to account for the M rating, but not for a little while.

**ALSO** I am looking for a beta reader. If anyone would like to volunteer, I would really appreciate it!


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